Milicic, who was in Sydney for the announcement of the squad, said he’s pleased with the balance of the roster and is buoyed by the experience that his team will take into France.

“This is a special group of Australian footballers because, as a unit, they have accumulated a wealth of international experience despite the average age of the team being quite young,” Milicic said.

“Having players that have appeared at multiple FIFA Women’s World Cups in our squad will help to guide the eight players traveling to their first Women’s World Cup, and I believe we will have genuine competition for starting positions across all areas of the pitch.

”I don’t like to single out individuals, however I would like to congratulate Lisa (De Vanna), Clare (Polkinghorne), and Lydia (Williams) for earning selection in their fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup squads.

“I am really looking forward to joining the squad in Turkey, and believe we can make significant progress before our first match is played in Valenciennes,” he said.

Two additional players – Kyah Simon and Kyra Cooney-Cross – will join the Matildas in Europe prior to the tournament on standby.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ will kick-off in just under one month’s time with hosts France taking on Korea Republic at the Parc des Princes in Paris, while the Matildas will tackle Italy at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes two days later.

Australia will play the Netherlands in a pre-FIFA Women’s World Cup friendly in Eindhoven on Saturday, 1 June 2019.

The Matildas will be captained at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ by Sam Kerr, with Steph Catley serving as vice-captain.

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